It is important to product manufacturers to understand their customers so that the manufacturers can develop their products to better suit their customers' needs. Some questions that a manufacturer may have about a customer include: What does the customer like about the product? How is the customer using the product? and, What can the manufacturer do differently with future products that would satisfy the customer's needs?
Although this information can be of great value to a manufacturer, collecting this information can place a burden on the customer because of the time it takes to collect the information. Specifically regarding the manufacture and sale of printing devices and collection of data therefrom, the manufacturer must rely on sample based market research using techniques such as telephone interviews with a customer to gather the desired data. From this data, the manufacturer can tailor future products to better fit the customer's needs.